Things happen
by inspiration-doesnt-come-easy
Summary: Maria and Allistor Kirkland are killed in a car accident, leaving their son Alec Kirkland behind. As a dying wish Maria asks Natalia to take care of their son, which she reluctantly agrees to. Lukas pities her and decides to help her raise Alec. This'll be easier said than done. ((Pairings: HongIce, ScotPrus, NorBela, and other little side pairings. ))
1. Chapter 1

_'Hey Bela, I'm just going to cut to the chase, I want you to raise Alecs. Sure I can always have West or one of Skirtman's bros take care of our little brat, but I don't want him to end up like them: Strict, boring, and unawesome. Yeah I know that they would do a great job raising him too but I know that you'll raise him to be who he wants to be. You'll raise him with good morals, he'll be himself, you'll always accept him, and you'll give him the chance to become a somebody. __You'll give him everything we never had.__ I am begging you Bela, please, please raise Alecs. I know this is selfish, but right now I ask as a mother, not a friend. We're sorry that we left like this, that we burdened you. We'll see eachother again someday. __I'll miss you. You'll be a great mutti. Tell my baby I love him. __ Thank you'_

Natalia read through the letter, taking note of every little detail. The way the letters were smudged with tear stains, the untidy and quickly scrawled words, the crossed out sentences, the slight rips in the paper where Maria had written too hard. She inhaled a deep breath before exhaling out, trying to calm herself. Two of her only friends had been taken away by the horrible thing called death, leaving her with their three year old child. Her eyes trailed off her table to the sleeping red-headed child on the couch.

Unruly red hair, mischievous green eyes, a loud child, so much like his parents. She tapped her nails on the table for awhile before calling Emil. "Hej Bela." The Icelandic man's voice was strained and cracked a bit when he answered. He was taking this worse than her, well, he was more open about it, she didn't dare shed a tear. "Privyet Emil, you know how I said I didn't want to raise Alecs." He made a slight noise in the back of his throat and answered. "Ja, what about it?"

"I change my mind, I will be his new guardian. I just wanted to put your mind at ease."

Emil sighed in relief. "Thank you Bela, but do you really want to? I know that you are busy at times an-" She cut him off. "If I didn't want to then I wouldn't agree to this. Besides, this is the only time Maria's ever begged. But Emil, if it ever seems as though I am not doing a good job raising him or if I somehow become unable to care for him, then please take him away." He agreed to this and they both said their goodbyes.

That night Natalia spent her time re-reading the letter and setting up a room for the toddler. She picked him up and walked over to the bed she had set up. Setting him down and turning on the night-light. Natalia left the room and sat down at the kitchen table, holding her head in her hands. "God help me." Her hands shook slightly, it was a nerve-wrecking day: Suddenly losing two of your only friends, becoming the guardian to their child, dealing with the angry relatives. She closed her eyes and her thoughts were broken by the sound of Alecs' crying. Dashing down the hall and quickly opening the door, she sighed in relief, he wasn't hurt. "What's wrong?"

Alecs looked up at her and uttered out one word. "Mutti?" She frowned and sat next to Alecs. "Your mutti isn't here." He frowned and clutched the blankets tightly. "Papa?" A shake of the head from her was all it took to cause him to start screaming for his parents. Natalia picked him up and rocked him back and forth. "Shh, hush little one, don't cry, today has already been filled with too many tears." He clutched her shirt and buried his face into her shoulder. "You sad too?" She sighed and held him close. "Da, I am sad too."

They sat like that for the rest of the night, Alecs soon falling asleep, clutching her shirt and Natalia holding him close, her chest acheing from the tragic events that occured that day.

The next morning Natalia awoke to the sound of her doorbell ringing. She groaned and stood up, still holding Alecs. She made her way to the front door and opened it. Emil and Lukas stood infront of her, holding boxes. "You forgot some of Alecs' things at the house." The sleep-deprived blonde nodded and motioned for them to come in. "Just set it in the room on the right. Emil make me some coffee." Natalia set Alecs down and held her head in one hand. "Here." Lukas handed her a cup of coffee and felt a bit of sympathy for her. "How are you feeling?" She took it gratefully and sipped it. "Tired, can one of you please watch him while I go and fill out some papers?" Emil nodded and gave her a pat on the back. "I'll watch him Bela, come on don't stress too much." Her grip on the cup loosened and she took a deep breath. "I'll try."

After she left to go sign the papers to become Alecs' legal guardian she came home to a screaming child. Of course, leave the boy with Emil, what a brilliant idea Natalia. She picked up Alecs and glared at Emil. "Last time I ask you to baby sit." The house was a mess, Natalia calmed down the child and gave him a stern look. "Who did this, hm?" Alecs looked away and crossed his arms defiantly. "Alecs Kirkland, I am talking to you, who made this mess?" He frowned and looked around before pointing at Emil. "Emmy." She raised an eyebrow at this. "I don't think Emil was the only one, did you help make this mess?" Alecs shook under her gaze and nodded. "Good, I don't like liars." Natalia looked at Emil. "Clean this up." She set Alecs down and pointed at Emil. "Go help Emil clean up." The redhead frowned and shook his head. "No!" She crossed her arms and raised a brow at this. "No?" He shrunk away from her and ran over to Emil, hurrying to help clean up. "That's what I thought."

Once the house was clean and Emil gone, Natalia began to make dinner. "Bela?" She looked down at him then went back to cooking. "Hm?" Alecs was sitting on the floor, playing with a train set. "Why mutti and papa no come back?" He looked up and tugged at her skirt. "I was a bad boy?" Natalia stirred the stew and put the lid over the pot before answering him. "Nyet, you were a good boy, they're just irresponsible idiots." She bent down next to him and gave him a pat on the head. "But that doesn't mean they loved you any less." He nodded and continued to play with his train. The stew boiled over and the lid fell off with a clatter. "Shit!" She hissed and hurried to turn off the flame.

Dinner went without much commotion, Natalia ate in silence whilst Alecs played with his food and and made dramatic noises. Once they finished eating she gave him a bath and tucked him into bed before turning to finish cleaning up. "Bela!" She stopped and looked at him. "Da?" Alecs sat up and looked at his closet. "Boogeyman." Natalia shook her head with a sigh. "There is no such thing as the boogeyman." He continued to give her a look that basically told her to just do it. She sighed in frustration and opened the door. "Hey boogeyman, listen here, you mess with my boy and you'll regret it. You don't scare me in the least, you got that?" No response. Natalia looked at the little boy. "There, no monsters are going to bother you, ever. Know why?" He clutches his stuffed bird that looks a lot like Gilbird. "Because you're scarier than monsters?" She nodded and shut the door. "Mm-hm, now go to bed." Alecs frowned and crossed his arms. "I want a story."

"What? A story?" He nodded. "I won't go to bed until you tell me one." Natalia rolled her eyes and sat down in the chair next to his bed. "Fine, but go to bed after this." She cleared her throat and began the story. "This story is called 'Little red riding hood.' It begins when a little girl is sent off to the woods to give her sick grandmother some food and wine..." As the story continued she could see his eyelids closing until he was finally asleep. She sighed and fixed the blanket to cover him. "Good night Alecs." When she came out to the kitchen, the table was cleared away and the dishes done. "What?" She quickly grabbed a knife and looked around, soon relaxing when she saw it was just Lukas.

He earned a sharp punch to the back of his head and she glared down at him. "How the hell did you get in Bondevik?" Lukas rubbed the back of his head and held up the key she had given Emil. "Came to see how you were holding up." She frowned. "I'm doing f-"

"Bela?"

She hurried to Alecs' room, bending down next to his bed. "Yes?" He held out his arms, motioning for her to pick him up. Natalia complied and rocked him back and forth softly. Soon he was back to sleep. "You okay?" She looked back and sighed. "To a certain extent I suppose." Lukas frowned and crossed his arms. "I'm going to help you." Natalia raised an eyebrow at this. "You? Help me? My god, is it christmas?" He rolled his eyes. "I'm being serious Arlovskaya, you're going to need help raising him and I don't see you winning any mommy of the year awards." She sat down and frowned at him. "Why do you want to help me? We aren't exactly on the friendliest terms." Lukas pointed at Alecs. "I don't want to see you screw this kid up and I went through this too. I raised Emil all alone, it's not fun and it's really stressful. You have a kid to look after and you don't have anyone to go to do you? Natalia you're too full of pride to go to his uncles or Emil for help."

"Da, I am, but what makes you think that I'll accept your proposition?" He shrugged. "You're proud, not stupid. You'll accept help when it comes your way." She sighed. "Unfortunately, you have a point. I...I accept your help." Lukas nodded and held out his arms. "Give him to me, you go to bed." Natalia waved him off. "I'm fine." He shook his head and insisted. "If you accept my help then give me the boy. You haven't slept for three days." The tired blonde sighed and handed him Alecs. "Fine, good night. There's a guest room down the hall from my room, sleep there for tonight."

The moment she laid down on her bed she was asleep, the stress, the fatigue, the sudden events all taking over and taking away all the energy she had left. It was scary how one accident could change their lives so much, taking away two of her friends and leaving a child orphaned. She was glad that Lukas had offered to help, she was scared of screwing up, it was even worse since she was alone. Hopefully Alecs' will grow up the way his parents would've wanted him to.


	2. Chapter 2

Living arrangements were made between the two co-caretakers, Lukas would live at Natalia's house, seeing as how he and the other nordics just roomed in one house, and help out with bills and chores. He would stay in her guest room and try not to be a nuisance. Right now each member in the house was doing their own thing, Lukas watching cartoons with Alecs and Natalia going through the papers and forms that were needed to be Alecs' official guardian.

"Bela!" She sighed and set the papers down.  
"Da?"  
The sound of little feet padding through the house came rapidly and Alecs was soon infront of her. "I wanna go to the park!" Natalia motioned for him to lower his voice, seeing as how she was just right there. "Why didn't you ask Lukas to take you?"

"He did, and I said yes. But he'd like for you to come along as well." She looked up at Lukas and rubbed her temples. "Alecs, I'm very busy right now, maybe next time, okay?" The red haired boy wouldn't take that. He grabbed her hand and tried to pull her out of her seat. "Pleaaasssee! You're never any fun." Natalia shook her head. "Yes yes, I know, I'll play with you next time, okay?" He stomped his foot and glared at her. "No! You always say that and you never do, you a liar!"

Lukas placed a hand on Alecs' shoulder. "Hej, look Natalia is trying hard to be a good mom, but she can't do that until she finishes work, okay?" He shook his head. "No, it's not okay." Natalia knelt down infront of him and took his hand. "First off, stop crying, second off, I'm sorry for not spending time with you...Let's go to the park?" He nodded and smiled before hurrying to grab his shoes and toys.

She stood up and dusted off her pants before looking back at Lukas; he was staring at her. "What is it." He simply shrugged. "Nothing, just thinking." Natalia raised an eyebrow but brushed it off. "Bela! Lukas! Hurry up!" They both sighed. "Coming."

The trio were soon walking through town to the park. Once they reached there Alecs ran off to go and play with the other children. They both sat together awkwardly, watching Alecs run around with the other little kids. The little red haired boy soon came back to them. "Lu come play with me!"

He looked at Natalia who shooed him off playfully. "Go on Lukas."

Lukas rolled his eyes at her but followed Alecs to the playground. She chuckled as Alecs reached up for Lukas to pick him up. Natalia leaned her chin against her fist, watching them play together. Lukas set Alecs down and took out his phone, probably to text someone or something.

_ding_

Natalia looked down at her phone. 'Buy us ice cream.' She shook her head but stood up and went to go look for the ice cream truck that was usually around the park. When she got back however, she wasn't quite sure what to say about the scene infront of her.

Alecs was clinging onto Lukas' legs, hiding from an angry mother and her screeching child. Lukas was blank faced as ever, not responding to the mother's insults and arguments. "Where is your wife? If you wont talk then I'll just speak to her, one of you should have sense and **words**."

Natalia sighed and walked over to them, handing Lukas the ice cream cones. "I don't like strawberry." He complained and she shot him a glare, basically telling him to shut up. "Excuse me but I am the care taker of the little red haired boy, is there a problem here?"

The older woman huffed. "Your little monster bit my son. Look! He's bleeding!" She roughly took her son's hand and showed it to Natalia. "Yes, I can see." Natalia looked at Alecs. "Why did you bite the kid?" When he didn't answer, the mother fumed and tapped her foot impatiently, which pissed off Natalia. "Lady, calm down and give him some time." She placed a hand on his shoulder gently. "I'm not mad, I just want to know."

Lukas nudged Alecs towards her, motioning for him to speak up. Alecs motioned for her to bend down to his height before hugging her. "He asked me if you and Lu were my mommy and daddy. I told him that mutti and papa went far far away." His grip tightened. "He said they left because they didn't want a boy like me. That they didn't love me. I was so mad that I had to hit him or something...so I bit him."

Natalia's lips tightened and she nodded. "Okay Alecs, I get it." She picked him up and turned to glare at the mother and son so darkly, if looks could kill they'd be ten feet under. "Da, well you see, my boy does not owe you an apology. It seems as though your child deserved to be bitten." The mother, outraged, screeched at her. "Excuse me?! My son may have said a few words but that doesn't mean your brat can latch his teeth onto him!"

Lukas wasn't surprised at how furious Natalia looked when the woman said that. "Yes, you're right, Alecs should've kicked your kid's ass. Teach your son some manners, do you honestly believe that mocking another human being about his deceased parents is acceptable? I think not." She looked at Lukas. "Come on, we're leaving this place for somewhere better."

The woman infront of Natalia gasped in anger and humiliation. "You-you horrid woman!" She rolled her eyes but didn't answer her. The trio left the park in search of a place more fun. "Lukas let me have a bite of ice cream." He showed her the melted ice cream that was literally just melted ice cream soup inside a cone. "Nevermind, let's go for ice cream, da?"

Alecs nodded enthusiastically and they soon entered an ice cream shop. While Natalia and Alecs ordered the ice cream, Lukas couldn't help but be a bit amused at how Natalia had reacted. He remembered how before, if you had insulted her or hurt anyone she remotely liked, she would've clawed your eyes out; which of course, caused a lot of bar fights, threats and restraining orders. It was a bit odd how one child could change her so much, from being a slightly hot tempered, dangerous woman to a more level-headed person.

"Here Lukas." She handed him an ice cream cone, vanilla. He took it and mumbled his thanks. They both listened to Alecs babble on about something, giving ocassional 'mm-hm's and 'really?' to show that they were listening. Alecs stopped talking and looked at them both oddly. "Hey Bela, are you and Lu dating?" They both choked on their ice cream before answering quickly.

"Nyet. I would never date him."

"Nei. She's not my type."

Alecs raised an eyebrow. "What's a type? and what's yours?" Before Lukas could answer, Natalia kicked him under the table, shaking her head no. "We'll tell you when you're older." He frowned and rubbed his now bruised shin. "A warning before you try to break my leg." She shrugged and she smirked a bit. "Sorry, did that hurt?" The little boy continued to eat his ice cream, just watching them happily. "You guys fight like mutti and papa." They paid no attention to what he said and continued to insult eachother and kick each other under the table.

With that, they concluded their trip to the ice cream shop. Both of them had dark purple bruises on their legs but paid no mind to them.

Alecs had fallen asleep on the walk home and was tucked into bed. Natalia ran a hand through her hair, reading and signing the legal forms.

"Here." She looked up and took the coffee cup. "Thank you." As she sipped the hot coffee, Lukas watched her carefully. It was a 'hobby' of his, observing people and noting their little habits and quirks.

Natalia's fingers curled around the cup delicately, her fingertips lightly pressing into the cup. Her eyes closed as she sipped the coffee. Her legs crossed at the ankles and her toes curled slightly. The way her chest rose and fell with each breath she took. Her hair slightly frazzled from the day and her brows relaxed.

"Lukas stop staring." He blinked and finally realized that she was looking up at him. "It's not staring, it's observing." She scoffed. "Great wording Lukas." They both sat in silence for a while, not the usual awkward silence, it was just...silence.

"Are you hungry?"

"I'm starving."

"Same."

"..."

"..."

"Pizza?"

"That'd be lovely."

Lukas called Feliciano and his brother. "Feliciano do you deliver?"

"Of course~ What would you like?"

He looked back at Natalia who simply shrugged.  
"Surprise me."  
They both watched reruns of whatever show happened to be on until Lovino came with their pizza.

Natalia ate her slice, content with watching the rerun of Supernatural that was on. Lukas' eyes flashed towards her before asking. "Why didn't you hit that woman in the park today?" She turned to look at him, pizza still in her mouth and a brow raised. "Do you think I solve all my problems with violence?" His silence answered her question.

"Okay, well...I used to and we both know how that song and dance went-"

"You have 5 restraining orders against you..."

"Yes, I know, but anyways the reason I didn't hit that woman was because I decided that I need to be a better role model. I don't exactly want to show Alecs that violence is the only way to solve your problems."

He hummed thoughtfully then smirked. "But you were close to hurting her." She laughed a bit and picked up her pizza. "Oh you have no idea." It puzzled her how much she and the Norwegian got along, considering they weren't exactly the best of friends before all of this. She found him to be a snarky, sarcastic, annoying jerk and he found her to be a violent, tempermental, cold hearted bitch.

Their opinions of eachother weren't kind but weren't so far from the truth. Natalia wasn't afraid to admit that she had a problem with her temper, her coldness, or that she was quick to strike. Lukas knew that he had an odd sense of humor, was painfully sarcastic and added snarky comments, and that his behaviour was annoying to some.

The pizza was eaten, the reruns all watched and them both laying on the couch, legs hanging off the armrests of the couch.

"Hey Natalia"

"Hm?"

"Why'd you take Alecs in?"

"I can't just leave a child on his own."

"Yeah sure, what's the real reason?"

She turned so she was laying down on her stomach. "What makes you think I didn't just take him in because of the kindness of my heart?" Lukas scoffed. "Natalia you are one of the coldest and ruthless people I've met, you don't just do things that don't benefit you." A huff of annoyance left her. "Nice opinion of me. Anyways, the real reason why I decided to take care of him is because I want to give him something that his parents couldn't give him now or then; a childhood that wasn't absolute crap."

Natalia sat up and sighed. "Maria and Allistor loved Alecs a lot, but they were awful to eachother. I went to their house practically everyday just to make sure they didn't kill eachother or accidentally hurt Alecs. They fought over the smallest things, but they wanted the best for him, even though they weren't willing to get along to do it." She ran a hand through her hair, pulling out the tangles. "So I decided that if they couldn't do it while they were alive I would try now that they're gone. Look at him, he deserves to be happy."

Lukas raised an eyebrow. "Never knew you were so nice." A small scoff came from her. "Yeah? Well here's a question for you." She hovered over him so she could see him dead on. "Why did _you_ help _me_."

He blinked at the close proximity of her face but ignored it. "I don't want you to screw up, I've seen how you are: Violent and crude. Not the best mother if you ask me and you looked like you needed help. I was in this situation before, but with a teenager (emil), would've been nice if someone had helped me. Even if you are an unbearable woman, you do have some good points."

She nodded. "Same to you." Natalia looked at the clock. "We've been talking until 12 in the morning, I think I'll be off to bed." He agreed with her and they both walked to their own bedroom. Before Natalia could enter her room, she looked back behind her at Lukas. She hated him because she couldn't understand him, his actions never apparent, the rude snarky remarks that he made, and the fact that he _wasn't_ scared of her annoyed her.

Lukas could feel her eyes on his back but disregarded it. He didn't like her much either. She was unpredictable, she could be crueler than anyone he's ever met, and the fact that even though she had a bad attitude you can't help but respect her. The way she carried herself and the actions that she did, they spoke louder than the words that she used.

The house soon fell into silence as the slightly dysfunctional family drifted off to sleep. They're comforted with the fact that they're no longer alone and though the years will be tough, little moments of bonding and growing up will make it worth it.


	3. Chapter 3

Natalia's house was always very busy in the morning. She would be making breakfast for the additonal two people in her home, whilst getting her folders together, trying to wake up Alecs, thinking of new ideas for wedding dresses and budget managing, and of course forgeting to get dressed. But then as always, Lukas takes over once she starts running to the kitchen because the pancakes are burning, telling her to get dressed and go to work. Today, was no different.

Waffles cooked while she hurried to her workroom, looking for the folder that contained all the information needed for a client's wedding dress. "Shiiiit." She hissed under her breath and looked at the time. Running out of that room to Alecs', she stopped briefly to throw her slipper at Lukas, telling him to wake up. She opened the door and shook him awake. "Come on kiddo, wake up." Her eyes flickered to the clock on the wall while he sat up and yawned. 7:30.

The small smell of burning caught her attention, she was running back to the kitchen. She took the waffles out of the wafflemaker and blew on them, cooling them a bit. Edges were black but could be cut off. Lukas gave her a quick look over before turning her to the door. "Go and get dressed, Natalia. I'll take care of the rest." She took a breath and nodded. "Thanks." She went to her room, getting dressed and looking for the folder at the same time. By the time she was stumbling down the stairs Lukas was feeding Alecs. He grabbed her arm before she could fall over and handed her the folder she was looking for.

"It was in the living room."

Natalia sighed in relief and nodded. "Thanks, again." She looked up at the clock. "And I'm running late, I'll see you both later." A messing of the hair for Alecs and a short nod to Lukas. It was routine for them all.

Once she was at work, the stress faded away. She sat in the backroom, sketching out some dresses for her clients and pulling out fabrics to see which ones suited the bride's taste. She didn't meet her brides, Lili met the brides and questioned them then gave her the details and such that the brides wanted, but she always made sure they liked what they got.

"Hey Natalia, coffee?"

She didn't look up at Toris but nodded. Unknown to popular belief she did know that he liked her, but she wasn't sure about her feelings for him. When he handed her the coffee he smiled at the detailed sketch of the dress. "Who's this one for?"

"Elizaveta Hedervary and Roderich Edelston, friend of mine and her pompous prick of a fiance. I'm trying to get this right but," she paused to sigh. "It's not going as how I want to portray it or how Elizaveta pictured it." Toris nodded and watched her slump in her chair. "How about we go look for some inspiration?" She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "Inspiration?" He nodded and smiled. "Yes, I'm sure Feliks and Francis wont mind us stepping out for a bit."

She was skeptic at first until, well this. "Hell yeah go take a break! Like, you are going to kill yourself with all that work Bela." Feliks yelled at her from the dressing room. "Oui, I agree with Feliks. You work too hard, now shoo, go get some 'inspiration'!" Natalia raised an eyebrow at how enthusiastic her bosses were with her break but shrugged it off. "Where did you have in mind?"

Lukas bounced his knee out of habit as he typed out the rough draft to a story he had been working on. Alecs was by his feet, coloring and narrating his story to Lukas. His fingers stopped as he read over what he had just wrote and groaned.

"What's wron'?"

The little red head looked up at him and he blew his bangs away from his face. "No inspiration." Alecs looked at him for a bit before giving him the solution to his problem. "Look for some." He was about to tell him how hard it was to find inspiration before realizing that just complaining of lack of inspiration wasn't going to help his problem.

"Where should I look?"

Green eyes lit up and a smile spread on his face.

"The forest?"

Toris smiled and helped her out of the car. "Yes, her wedding is being held outdoors in a forest like area right?" She nodded and looked around. "So this is perfect, you can get some inspiration from the scenary, plus a visual on how the wedding background will be, and it'll help clear your head." He followed her as she went along the path laid out. "True."

Natalia looked at the trees and their curling limbs; the way the leaves fanned out and how the small droplet of water on them glistened in the sun. She knelt down next to a patch of wild flowers and took a picture for reference. "Perhaps I could embroider some flowers on the bottom of her dress and on the sleeves."

While she was deep in her thought process she didn't notice Toris watching her. He adored how focused and concentrated she was. The little habits she had while she drew down sketches and details. How precise she was with little details. Not only that but the way her eyes lit up when she heard how happy the brides were with the dresses they received.

A loud gasp was heard behind them and a flash of red flew past him and squeezed Natalia into a hug.

"Bela!"

She blinked in surprise and looked down at the mop of spiky red hair. "Alecs? What are you doing here?" Actually, "Where the hell is Lukas?! Why isn't he with you?!"

"Rude, you know I wouldn't just leave him to run around the forest alone." She half glared at him and sighed. "Right, well what are you two doing here?" He waved his notepad at her. "Inspiration." Toris looked at the three curiously. "Natalia, you know these two?"

"Ah right, Alecs this is Toris my friend. Toris this is Alecs, I'm his guardian." He raised an eyebrow and looked at Lukas. "And this is?" She looked up from Alecs and shrugged. "He helps take care of Alecs and annoys me."  
"So he's your bo-"

"No, I'd rather not date this psychotic incestual woman."

"And I'd rather not date this emotionless jerk."

Toris breathed out a small sigh of relief. She was a bit amused at his relieved expression and Alecs attached himself onto Lukas' legs now. "So what are you doing here, aren't you supposed to be at work?" She waved her phone at him. "Inspiration." Her phone buzzed and she looked at it.

'You have a client waiting for you, better hurry.'

Natalia raised an eyebrow at the message from Lili and texted back. 'You meet the brides, not me.' Toris looked at her. "Something wrong?" She shrugged. "I honestly dont know, Lili says I have a customer waiting."

'Yes I know but this client is specifically asking for you, she says she knows you.'

Alecs looked at her. "Do you have to go?" She sighed and nodded. "Yes, I have to go meet someone. I'll see you two at home and Lukas remember to make dinner tonight please." He rolled his eyes. "You act as if I ever forget to make dinner, but whatever. See you later, come on Alecs wanna go to the river?" The little boy grinned and jumped up and down. "Yeah! Come on let's go! Bye Bela!" He tugged Lukas away and she waved goodbye to them. Toris smiled at her and she raised an eyebrow. "what's with the smile?"

"You just look really happy when you talk to Alecs." He laughed softly. "It's nice to see you happy rather than your usual grumpy face." She rolled her eyes not noticing the small bit of heat in her cheeks. "You are a strange strange man Toris, hurry up, let's go before my client gets antsy." She may not have noticed but Toris did. The small bit of color on her cheeks stood out on her pale skin and made his smile broaden.

"Whatever you say Natalia."

"I'm here, who's my client?"

Lili looked up at her and sighed in relief. "Are you familiar with an 'Irina Chernenko'? She's wai- Natalia?" The older woman's eyes were wide. "M-my older sister...is getting married?!" She walked past Lili to the waiting room for the brides and found her lovely older sister looking through dress sketches. "Iruyna why didn't you tell me you were getting married?" Her sister smiled and waved at her. "Natalia it's been ages!"

Before she could tell her to not hug her, Iruyna had pulled her into an extremely tight hug. She pulled away and breathed a quick breath of air. "Iruyna! Dont do that! And who are you marrying? Why was I not told?" Iruyna sat her sister down and answered her questions.

"I am marrying Matthew, you remember him yes? I wanted this to be a surprise since I know you love surprises."

"I hate surprises and you're marrying him? Really?" Iruyna teared up at her little sister's unimpressed expression. "Why? Do you...not like him? I-I'm sure you both would get al-" Natalia cursed herself and tried to calm her sister. "No no, I'm happy for you Iruyna, please stop crying." She rubbed her sister's back and tried to give an encouraging smile. "How about that dress though, hm?"

She wiped her tears and nodded before smiling back at her. "Okay."

An hour or so passed between the two siblings as Natalia asked her question after question, drawing things out to make them clearer to Iruyna, pulling out fabrics for her to touch and explaining which dress shapes would flatter her body type. By the time they had decided on a design that Iruyna adored, Natalia was exhausted and had her heels off.

"You know, Natalia,"

"Hm?"

"You seem a lot happier now that you're away from Ivan and me, your eyes light up when you work, are you seeing someone? Is that why you're so happy?"

She scoffed and shook her head. "No Iruyna, I am not seeing anyone. I just feel 'happy' designing wedding dresses and staying away from Ivan." Iruyna sighed and touched her sister's hand. "You know he misses you, right?" She laughed bitterly. "Hah, as if he does. He hates me." Her sister sighed and shook her head. "Natalia, he loves you a lot. You just left when you both were on bad terms. He's still your brother."  
"He told me I wasn't his sister anymore, I was disowned Iruyna."

Iruyna hugged her. "Ivan didn't mean it, you know that." She looked at the clock and frowned. "I have to go, I'll come by and visit you, and please please come to my wedding." Natalia nodded and hugged her sister back gently. After she had left, Natalia went back to the back room and went back to working on Elizaveta's dress. Toris noticed that she wasn't as enthusiastic and that her movements were slow and heavy.

Alecs was taking his nap and Lukas making dinner for the three of them. Mathias and Emil were over as well, talking and telling stories to the 'housewife'.

"So how's it like living with Natalia and helping her take care of the kid?"

He shut the oven door and wiped his hands on a towel. "It's not unbearable I suppose. After about a month of living here I've gotten accustomed to the daily routine."He washed the dishes that had piled up a bit and continued talking. "She usually goes to work at around 8:30 am, calls to make sure I haven't burnt the house down as if I need to be reminded, at around 3 pm, and comes home at 7 pm. When she gets home she'll eat dinner, work on something for her client, play with Alecs and get him ready for bed, then she'll put him to bed. She'll go to her room to do god knows what, comes back out to read, and ask me how my day was, how my book is going."

Emil raised an eyebrow at his older brother. "Do you...like her?" The Dane next to him grinned. "I bet he does, you sure do talk about her alot." He rolled his eyes at the two at the table. "I do not like her, she's just a room mate." He dried his hands and sat at the table. "Even if I did, which I dont, she does not like me...at all." Mathias laughed and slapped his back. "Oh she'll come around." He narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Come around where? There is no where to come around to, we have no relationship like that."

They continued talking about trivial things and current events, things like that. 7 o' clock came around but Natalia still hadn't come home. Emil and Mathias had left already and Alecs and Lukas had just finished eating. The little red head was sitting in Natalia's chair, coloring on some of her spare paper. "Lu?"

"hm?"

"Why isn' Bela home?"

He shrugged and continued writing out his story. "maybe she got held up at work." Alecs frowned, not liking the answer but didn't say anything else. Soon 8 o' clock came around and Lukas had already tucked Alecs into bed, telling him that Natalia was on her way home. He checked his phone, no messages or missed calls. Lukas frowned but shrugged it off. "Probably went to go get drinks with co workers." Though it was highly unlikely, Lukas knew she barely had the patience or energy to deal with her co-workers sober, let alone tipsy.

"She'll be fine, Natalia's a grown woman who can care for herself." He reassured himself and went to go write his story. As he wrote, his eyes flickered to the clock and he cursed her silently for making him worried.

At around 9:00, she came home in the arms of that guy...Toris, right? Lukas raised an eyebrow at this. "Natalia fell asleep at work and Feliks told me to take her home after I closed up. Ah, here." He handed her over to him and cleared his throat. "Good bye, Lukas." Lukas nodded. "Same to you...Toris." He closed the door with his foot and dropped Natalia onto the couch not so gently. She landed on the couch harshly and fell onto the floor hard.

"Shit."

He sighed in annoyance and helped her up onto the couch, no way was he going to carry her to her room. Lukas flicked her forehead and her nose scrunched up a bit. "Stupid woman, you're working yourself too hard." He threw a blanket over her and went back to his seat, continuing to type out his story.

His eyes flickered up to her, she was still sleeping but her arm covered her eyes. Her fist was clenched tightly and her knuckles white. Her breathing was labored and her lower lip quivered a bit. Lukas placed a hand on her fist. "Calm down, I don't know what's wrong but need to relax." Natalia's fist unclenched and her breathing regulated, she was okay.

"Thanks."

He jerked his hand back and she moved her arm off of her face, her eyes were open. She was awake. Lukas cleared his throat. "It was nothing, you just looked troubled." She sat up and rubbed the side of her face. "I guess I'm just a bit stressed." He ran his hand through her hair, a few strands of it came out. "A bit? You're losing hair, Natalia. When have you been sleeping? Have you been eating more than one meal a day? You're paler than usual too, shit, you didn't even eat yet, come on." He pulled her up and tugged her to the kitchen, sitting her down at the table.

She closed her eyes tightly, her head spinning from having to get up so quickly. "Lukas I am fine, you dont need to worry abou- Mff!" He shoved a spoonful of food into her mouth. "Shut up and eat." She swallowed the food and started to protest again, only to have him shove more food into her mouth. "Finish eating then speak." Natalia sighed and took the bowl and spoon from him. "Fine." She didn't realize how hungry she was until she had finished the bowl of food.

"More?"

She shook her head but her stomach betrayed her and growled. He clicked his tongue and took the bowl from her before flicking her forehead. "Don't lie to me." He waited patiently as she finished eating. Once she finished eating, he pushed her bowl aside. "What's been bothering you?" She leaned back in her chair. "It's been a long 3 months. I've been having trouble sleeping, Allistor and Maria, then there's Alecs, Having to deal with people, my sister's getting married, Elizaveta's dress, and-" Her head dropped onto the table. "Thinking isn't a healthy past time and I don't think I'm well in the head."

He hesitantly placed a hand on her back. "I still dont know what's wrong, but if you need someone to talk to, then...I can call Emil for you." Natalia scoffed. "Emil can't give me advice for shit." She stood up and started for the stairs. "Whatever, it's nothing for you to worry about, I'll be fine. I've managed this far without any help." He opened his mouth to say something but she was already up the stairs. "You're too stubborn."

When he went to bed he could see the light under her door and could hear her sniffling and gasping quietly. When you see someone cry, you usually go comfort them because it's the right thing to do, but when that person does all that they can to keep you from seeing them cry, the right thing to do is to let them cry and pretend you didn't see. So he did just that, he entered his room and covered his head, trying not to imagine her: curled up on her bed and crying fat ugly tears and trying to keep quiet because she's too strong for help.

He had an ugly feeling when he closed his eyes and went to sleep. Because sometimes, that person who tries so hard to hide their tears, just needs to know that she isn't alone anymore.


End file.
